In his previous life Chris Weinke would have slumped in a backseatand quietly endured the bus ride from the stadium. It was aftermidnight, and he had played a decent game on Monday--not great,not bad, nothing to keep him awake. In his former career thiswould have been another day of running in place, of playing thesport for only one person--himself--and wondering if he would everget off these darn buses and into the big time.

In this life the bus ride was part of the fun, and no one caredthat he had been mediocre on the field. His team, Florida State,had won 23-14 over Texas A&M in the Kickoff Classic, and nothingelse mattered. So does it make sense now? When Weinke (pronouncedWINK-ee) gave up a six-year career in minor league baseball twoyears ago to chase a dream in college football, some peoplethought he was crazy. But at Giants Stadium on Monday night, thereasons for his unusual career decision were on display.

While his much-anticipated debut at quarterback was less thanspectacular (21 for 36, for 207 yards and one TD), one thing wasclear: He may be 26 years old, but as a quarterback, he has somegrowing up to do--and the Seminoles are just the team to allow himto do it. "Obviously, I didn't have a great performance, but westill won the game," said Weinke. "I didn't want to do too manythings, and with the athletes I have around me, I didn't haveto."

With Weinke showing the rust from not having started a game innine years, his teammates picked up the slack. Sophomore tailbackTravis Minor carried the ball 34 times, for 146 yards, and juniorwide receiver Peter Warrick made nine catches, for 106 yards. TheFlorida State defense held A&M to 133 yards, including a mere 20in the second half. Weinke may not be ready, but he may not haveto be. Once again the Seminoles have the type of athletes whomake their opponents look like they're running in oatmeal. Youneed some time, old man? Take all you need.

On the first play from scrimmage Weinke completed a 30-yard pass,his first as a starting quarterback for the Seminoles. He wasrelieved to finally put up some numbers because the words werestarting to grow mold. "I know it's an interesting story, butI've told it a million times," he said on Sunday. "It's gettingold." Not that there's anything wrong with old. Weinke is so oldhis teammates call him Old Man or Gramps. He's older than the DHor Monica Lewinsky. He's older than 10 projected starting NFLquarterbacks, including one of his predecessors at Florida State,Danny Kanell, who's in his third season with the New York Giants.

A quick review: Weinke spent four days at Florida State in August1990 before signing a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays andbanking a $375,000 bonus. Before Weinke left school, Seminolescoach Bobby Bowden told the kid he would save him a scholarshipin case he changed his mind. Bowden kept his word, althoughWeinke was no longer a kid when he reappeared in Tallahassee in'97. "He played six years of pro ball," says Bowden. "So what ifit wasn't football? It still was pro sports."

To Weinke, it still wasn't Florida State football. A firstbaseman, he made it as far as Triple A in the Blue Jays'system--his batting average as a pro was .248--but he never lostthe desire to step up to the line of scrimmage and feel like hewas standing at the center of the sports universe. "I likedbaseball, but football gets in your blood," he says. "It's muchmore intense, more exciting. No matter where I was playingbaseball, I'd get up on Saturday and watch all the preview shows.Then I'd come back after my game to my apartment or hotel roomand watch all the wrap-up shows."

Weinke twice appeared in a mop-up role for Florida State lastseason and was expected to spend another year as an understudy,until Dan Kendra tore the ACL in his right knee in the springgame. He gave himself a grade of C for his debut performance butawarded himself an A-plus for leadership. With the Seminolesleading 10-7 with less than a minute left in the first half,Weinke rolled right and looked downfield, unaware of rushingAggie linebacker Christian Rodriguez, who drilled him and forcedthe fumble. Cornerback Jay Brooks scooped up the ball andreturned it 21 yards for the TD that gave A&M a 14-10 lead at thehalf. "When things got tough, I didn't get down," said Weinke."We were losing at the half, and no one expected that. We neverquit. We went back out and won."

Bowden says Weinke is "wiser than any quarterback we've everhad," and apparently that wisdom extends to the way in which heinvested his baseball bonus, in real estate and stocks, amongother things. He has none of the money worries that plague mostsophomores. He's investing wisely still: To help 6'8", 300-poundoffensive tackle Ross Brannon stay beefed up, Weinke filledBrannon's freezer with a dozen steaks. He took his wide receiversto dinner at the restaurant of their choice. "Red Lobster," hesays, rolling his eyes. "Hey, it was their idea. Don't blame me."

"Wink Dog's old, and he's got more money than any of us," Minorsays, "but he acts like everyone else, goofs around, has a goodtime and plays hard. I think we're going to grow together thisseason."

Growing is fine, but at Florida State it usually coincides withwinning. The Seminoles are on a remarkable streak of 11 straighttop four finishes, and here's more bad news for their 1998opponents: Bowden says that this year the Seminoles have "morespeed than any other team we've had." They need more speed likeMark McGwire needs a One-A-Day.

Strangely, the quarterback who may have played the pivotal rolein Monday night's matchup wasn't even at the Meadowlands. He wasin Indianapolis preparing for his NFL debut this Sunday with theColts. While Peyton Manning is well known as the guy whosepresence persuaded Branndon Stewart, the Aggies' startingquarterback, to transfer to Texas A&M from Tennessee, he alsohelped convince Weinke to return to campus life before it was toolate. "I met him one day in Knoxville in 1995," says Weinke. "Iwas in Double A, and he came to one of our games. He told me hewas loving life in college, that I'd be crazy if I didn't give ita shot. And he was right. Nothing compares to playing quarterbackin a big college-football game. Nothing."

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN IACONO UNRELENTING Tommy Polley made a team-high five solo tackles for a defense that held Dante Hall and the Aggies to 133 yards.